SITTING IN Remembering The Runner’ of Malden

Tuesday

Jun 24, 2014 at 9:02 AMJun 24, 2014 at 9:02 AM

By Betsy GrantI met Adeline Baptista in 1978 at Gloria Stevens in Malden. She was a ball of energy in my exercise classes. She was 62 years old, only four feet seven inches tall and weighed 90 pounds, but used every inch of her being to her advantage. She loved to exercise and had played basketball in her younger days.We became fast friends. She told me she liked to do "swift walking." A few months after I met her, she told me she had begun running. She said her thoughts were, "if Betsy can do it, so can I."I was 29 years old at that time, and was amazed with her confidence and disregard for the fact she was starting a sport at an age many people were retiring from any sports.I gave her tips about running from my experience of being a runner since 1972, and my late husband, Vernon Grant (a runner since 1957) coached both of us. She quickly became known on the streets of Malden as "The Runner."It took me three years to convince her to do her first road race, the Bonne Belle (now called the Tufts 10K for Women) in 1981. She loved the race, finished in 64 minutes and 20 seconds, and won ninth place in her age category. A star was born. I quickly learned how competitive she was.Adeline ran six races in 1982, placing first or second in her age category in four of them. It seems that it took less effort for her to decide she could do a marathon than that first Bonne Bell 10K race.I remember as she trained for her first Boston Marathon in 1983, she was affected by an injury. In an article done by Dave McGillivray for the Melrose Evening News Friday, March 18, 1983 he wrote, "Once when she was seriously injured, a number of doctors advised her to not run for a long period of time." Adeline said, "When they told me I couldnít run, I went right into the bathroom and cried, it bothered me so much."I do remember that ultimately she decided soon after to return to running--she was not going to be deterred from running the Marathon. She completed the Boston Marathon on April 18, 1983 in 5 hours and 28 minutes, to the delight of her family and friends, and most of all, to herself.Vernon compiled a list of Adelineís races that included her times, her average pace, and her place in her age category .From 1981 through 1985, she ran a total of 37 races, ranging from the 2.5 mile races at McDonald Park in Medford, numerous 6.2 (10K) mile races, to four different Malden Irish American Road Races that were 13.1 miles. Her 10 K races got faster and faster, and her time in the Bonne Bell race of 1984 was an amazing 55 minutes and 20 seconds, which was an average 8:55 minute per mile pace. She had risen to finish third in her age category.Her second marathon was in Newport, Rhode Island in 1984. Even though she was 67 years old, she still ran a personal record, completing it in 5 hours and 4 minutes!All of this work was not without challenges. Vernon and I competed along with her in many of her races, and she would be often beset with leg cramps after she finished her race. She would have to walk and walk to try to work them out.In 1986 she decided to stop racing, but did continue running for a little while longer, perhaps another year. Her knees had begun to feel weak. She went back to her swift walking. By that time I was not working in the Gloria Stevens Figure Salon any more, but I would still call her weekly for her report on her exercise. She continued to walk around her assisted living home in Malden up until one month before she passed away on June 20, 2014 at age 96.Adeline loved to run, and often mentioned how many people, including the patrolling policemen in Malden would stop to congratulate her on her running. She had such a wonderful smile. It must have spurred them to support her efforts. She told the Boston Globe in an article before the Marathon in 1983,"Running has taught me, whatever it is you want, it takes discipline, determination and patience. The latter is what I have so little of and I find I want to whip out those practice miles in no time. I donít go on trips anymore or do much of anything else. My time is devoted to running. Right now I am eating, sleeping and breathing just for the Marathon. I Ďm just interested in finishing it. Iím not out to set any record. I know, with Godís help, I will finish".I will never forget June 12, 1983 watching Adeline race in the Sudbury 25 K (15.5 miles) Race for Women. I was not running that day (I had an injury) and was able to cheer her on at different points on the circular route. I knew what the single age group record for age 65 was for that distance, and believed she could beat it. I stood at the end, on a slight uphill, and cheered wildly as she pushed herself to sprint to the finish. She did it! She set an American record that day. (Her time was a fantastic 2 hours and 49 minutes, which was an average 10 minute 54 second per mile pace.) She was my hero, that day and for all the days I was privileged to know my friend Adeline Baptista.--Betsy Grant now lives in Wisconsin